No surprise minority govts disliked, MP

Paul Osborne, AAP Senior Political Writer

Labor frontbencher Craig Emerson says it's not surprising voters don't like minority governments but he looks forward to a "thumping victory" for the government in 2013.

A Newspoll published in The Australian on Thursday found 47 per cent of voters believed the minority government had led to "worse" government, while 40 per cent were uncommitted and 13 per cent said it had improved the way the nation is governed.

A third of Labor voters said minority government was worse, while 22 per cent said it made things "better".

A total of 47 per cent of all voters predicted the coalition would win the election, due before the end of November 2013, while 28 per cent predicted a Labor win.

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Dr Emerson told reporters in Canberra on Thursday that Labor would be "very competitive" at the election because recent polls showed it was either two percentage points behind or ahead of the coalition.

"Voters think a majority government is better than a minority government - that is not a surprise," he said.

Asked whether he thought minority government worked, Dr Emerson said: "I think a very good result at the next election would be a thumping victory for Labor."

Labor has governed with the support of the Australian Greens and independent MPs since the 2010 election.